Bachelorette Parties

 My daughter is at an age where her age group is getting married.  Yea for them :)  

My, how things have changed with this generation.  For starters, these "weddings" and associated celebrations drag on forever.  By the time the engagement party, bachelorette party, wedding shower and  rehersal dinner are over with, everybody is exhausted and broke sucking any gleam of hope that this is supposed to be SUCH A HAPPY TIME.  To top it off, the wedding has not even happened yet.

.......And that is assuming you are not dragged off to some locale for a "destination" wedding.  I have no idea why the bridal couple think all we want to do is spend our limited vacation time and money for THEIR wedding!  I don't subscribe to the "make our wedding your vacation plans." 

I digress.

There is a new trend out there where every bachelorette is trying to outdo the other one with their party.  It's out of control.  Jetting off to Hawai'i for the weekend - jetting off to Vegas - jetting off to god only knows where.

Here's the truth.  Nobody really wants to go.  Sorry, Brittany, if this bursts your self-absorbed little bubble.

It's a huge hassle to book airline tickets and they are expensive.  Everything about flying is a hassle, and just for a weekend?  Come on. Wait. It's for the entire week you say?  Great.  You're obligating your bridesmaids to use vacation time they probably don't have AND asking them to use up their vacation pay (assuming they get any paid vacation at all) for YOU.

There's more.

Now it's onto the activities that bridezilla will want to schedule that will be even more expensive and draining.  I have not even touched on the cost of housing and food.  

By the time the party is over, the cat fights are on as everybody is at each others' throats because Ashley did not pay her fair share and was a pain-in-the-@$$ the whole time.  Then there is the added bonus of  flights being delayed or canceled and now there is the mad scramble to get home in time for work the next day. 

Oh, I forgot to mention that Bride Brittany, who's GREAT idea this was, now wants everybody to chip in and pay HER share as well. 

End result = nobody enjoyed the trip and staying home doing something locally would have been better.

Attention Bridezilla:  If you think emptying your bridesmaid's wallets while simultaneously sucking up all their vacation time is a good idea, you need to reevaluate the true meaning of friendship.  Nobody really cares about your pageant, oops, I meant wedding.  

Trust me.  

 

Our British Friends Are Coming !!!!!!

 I feel like Paul Revere running around yelling, "The British are coming!  The British are coming!"

Yes, indeed.  The British are coming.  Too bad American history did not give us any means of arrival other than, "oneth by land, twoeth by sea."

Today the British are arriving via aircraft and we could not be happier.  It's been a long time since J and P have graced us with their presence.  I can't wait to get the dates nailed down.  It will be so much fun to hang out with them and show them what's new in Sonoma County since their last visit.  

:)     :)     :)     :)   

AI - I Saw It Coming

 Back in August of 2013 I blogged about artificial intelligence.  I saw it coming.  I don't see everything coming, but I saw *that* coming.  People have told me I should make a career out of being a short-term futurist.  Here's the problem with that.  Nobody would believe me.  I don't use charts, statistics, and graphs.  It's 100% intuition.  I can't point to anything concrete to prove my credibility on this plane of existence that the limited five human senses can process.  

Enough of that.

Here's my thought of AI.  Let's look at its definition.  Artificial intelligence.  Key word = artificial.  It makes me wonder where the *real* intelligence is at?  Are we going to operate on AI and give the keys to our critical thinking to something artificial?  

Intellectual laziness and spoon fed information from a screen, in which the words and images on the screen may or may not be the truth, will test humanity in the coming years.  Oh, and ADD will impact everybody with our constant beeping, chiming, glitter bombing, and sensationalizing of everything makes us numb.

Check back in with me in 10 years.  You are free to say that I am full of bee-ess if I'm wrong. 

KAB is Pregnant AGAIN

 My niece decided to provide womb service to her boss.  Here's the five-words-or-less-version of what's going on.  

My niece, who was going to graduate school to get specialized teaching credentials, decided to have an affair with her boss at the school where she was working.  He was the "principal," for lack of a better word, for the student delinquents there are trying to rehabilitate.  My niece was told to "keep quiet" their relationship.  If everything was on the up and up, why the secrecy?  Red Flag.

It happens all the time.  It's the boss/secretary hot romance-type dynamic.  Doctor/Nurse.  Teacher/student. Whatever.  It's all been done before.  No shock to anybody.  Cliche to the max.  Neither my niece nor her Principal Lover were legally married at the time this all conspired.  Again, another big WHATEVER as romance is complicated and bites when one least expects it to.  Which begs the question.....why the needed secrecy?  What is going on behind the scenes? 

Well, now my niece is pregnant.  AGAIN.  She had Principal's son not quite 2 years ago.  In the meantime they have moved to Texas as California did not suit their needs.  Funny.  Now that my niece, who is not married to Principal, is knocked up again she needs medical insurance.  It's hard to get Covered CA when living in Texas.  Being just a baby-momma does not have any legitimacy in Texas.  

Now it's the heated rush to move back to California.  My niece needs medical insurance as she is not married to Principal and I don't think they really want to be married to each other.  Their chemistry is very business-like.  She pumps out kids, and he takes care of the kids financially.  My niece is left on her own lacking spousal benefits and support.  

They will be living across the street from us for at least the next six months.  Long story there, but they need to move back in with mommy and daddy with their f&&&&&& ugly, hyper french bull dog that jumps and pZZZZZZZ all over my furniture.  

For the four months my niece and baby daddy were gone living in Texas it was a welcome relief to all.   Obviously, my niece and her baby daddy can't stand their own s^^^ and need to move from Texas back home to live with mommy and daddy.  Even the niece's mother was happy when they cleared themselves out when they moved to Texas as they*finally* had their own house to themselves. 

Yup.  A they keep reproducing and all of them will live across the street from us for the foreseeable future.  

Sad to say, but it makes me long for the days when my niece was single, carefree,  and hopped up on cocaine at my son's wedding while she was taking photographs.  

Hmmmmmmmmmm pick the poison for my niece:  Single, fun-loving cocaine sniffer and having fun, OR baby momma to Mr. I Will Never Marry You But Want You To Pump Out My Kids.

Life is full of twists and turns, isn't it? 

Best Gnome Ever

 Sometimes this is how I feel.  I don't want anybody coming to my door pushing a ballot initiative, religion, solar panels, etc.  I just want to enjoy my home IN PEACE.  What's so wrong with wanting to be left alone in the privacy of my own home?  I'm so tired of being bombarded with people who want to tell me what they *think* I need.  

Having a ring camera has derailed some earnest, self-righteous busybodies from inserting their uninvited selves at my front door.  However, I think this gnome is more to the point.  

Which brings me to Freddy, who is our ailing friend.  

We dropped off some food for Freddy on Sunday at his house.  He had a gnome very similar to the below photo on his doorstep.  I laughed so hard I almost dropped the barbecued chicken and the cowboy chili beans I had brought all over his front porch.  Freddy said the gnome was given to him as a gift.  I want one.  LOL.  

Misheard Lyrics

 I'm not on social media much...... because...well.....I just don't want to be.  However, last night it was a late one for me because of work and I got home waaaaaaaaay past my bedtime.  

I needed to unwind.

For whatever reason I ended up on Instagram or Facebook and came across this guy who has a series of videos on misheard lyrics.  I laughed so hard my stomach hurts today.  One of my favorite videos of his references songs by the BeeGees.  

Enjoy!  I promise you one of two things:  you will never hear these same songs the same way ever again, or you will hear these same songs the same way you've always heard them.  LOL

https://www.facebook.com/reel/720399433574732

Half Moon Bay

 I have not blogged for a while.  I'm sure nobody notices nor cares.  Work has been stressful and busy.  Thankfully, things are settling down and I have a "girls" trip planned next weekend with my daughter, my sister-in-law, and my niece.  

Yup.  Just the four of us.  

We are going to head down to Half Moon Bay for the weekend just because.  We are all craving slow mornings drinking coffee and staying in our pajamas until noon.  Truth be told, all of us have been under the gun as of late with our jobs and life responsibilities and want some down time. 

We may feel like walking on the beach - or not.  We may feel like going window shopping at Cartier - or not.  We may want a spa day (always a YES).  

The point is that we really don't want to be on a schedule.  We don't want to deal with airports.  We don't want to deal with long car rides.  We don't want to deal with dressing up to go anywhere.  We don't want to deal with crowds.  Half Moon Bay is perfect for what we want.  

Our cottage on the beach is waiting for us :)